Edge-gated injection molding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an edge gating injection molding apparatus for delivering a moldable material to an array of mold cavities, the array can have a first column and a last column of mold cavities, the edge gating injection molding apparatus comprising: a unidirectional delivery body for delivering a first stream of the moldable material to a different one of each mold cavity of the first column and the last column of mold cavities, via a first location of the different one of each mold cavity of the first column and the last column of mold cavities; and a bidirectional delivery body for delivering a second stream of the moldable material to the different one of each mold cavity of the first column and the last column of mold cavities, via a second location of the different one of each mold cavity of the first column and the last column of mold cavities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 14/424,697 with a §371(c)(1), (2) date of Feb. 27, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,227,351, whichis a national phase entry of PCT/CA2013/000745 filed Aug. 28, 2013,which claims the benefit of U.S. Appl. No. 61/693,876 filed Aug. 28,2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to an injection molding system and, inparticular, to an edge-gated injection molding system.

BACKGROUND

Edge gating is commonly used in the manufacture of slender elongatemolded articles such as pipettes or a syringe barrels. The cavitydefining the molded article usually has only one gate through whichmolding material flows in a direction that is generally transverse tothe longitudinal axis of the molded article. Pressure within the cavityfrom molding material flowing through the gate on only one side of thepart can adversely affect part filling and/or part geometry. Forexample, when examining the fill rate of such parts, the side of thepart on which the gate is located generally fills first, thus creatingan angled flow front as the molding material advances away from thegate. Further, if injection pressure is high enough, the mold core,which defines the inside of the molded article, can be deflected awayfrom the gate. This problem is exacerbated in molded articles that areparticularly long, or have a slender core that is not supported at itsdistal end. The result of such core deflection is molded articles havinguneven wall thickness. In molding applications, such as pipette moldingand syringe barrel molding, this uneven wall thickness may causenon-uniform part shrinkage which may result in volumetric discrepanciesbetween molded parts as well as an overall increase in the number ofdefect parts which do not conform to the tolerance requirements of theend user.

One solution to avoiding the aforementioned difficulties with edgegating is to reduce injection pressure and/or increase part fill time;however, this comes at a cost of reduced productivity. Another solutionis to inject molding material into each cavity via two mold gates, oneon each side of the molded article. Both German patent DE 299021850 andU.S. Pat. No. 7,214,053 disclose edge gating application in which groupsof four mold cavities are fed molding material from two sides by groupsof four nozzles. The mold cavities are evenly spaced around a firstpitch circle and the nozzles are evenly spaced around a second largerpitch circle with the spacing of the nozzles offset by 45 degreesrelative to the orientation of the mold cavities. In the resultingarrangement each mold cavity receives molding material from twoinjection nozzles and each injection nozzle delivers molding material totwo mold cavities. While the problem of core shift is reduced in thisconfiguration, the cavitation density of the mold suffers as a result ofunused space at the center or the pitch circle. Furthermore, should thecavity/nozzle groupings be increased to, for example, groupings of eightcavities and eight injection nozzles spaced about pitch circles that areused in the above described configuration the cavitation density of themold is adversely affected as the unused space at the center of eachpitch circle increases greatly with an increase in pitch circlediameter.

As such, a need exists in the art for an edge gating apparatus thatreduces the above described problems while effectively using theavailable space inside the mold.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An aspect of the embodiments hereof are directed toward an edge gatinginjection molding apparatus for delivering a moldable material to anarray of mold cavities, the array can have a first column and a lastcolumn of mold cavities, the edge gating injection molding apparatuscomprising: a unidirectional delivery body for delivering a first streamof the moldable material to a different one of each mold cavity of thefirst column and the last column of mold cavities, via a first locationof the different one of each mold cavity of the first column and thelast column of mold cavities; and a bidirectional delivery body fordelivering a second stream of the moldable material to the different oneof each mold cavity of the first column and the last column of moldcavities, via a second location of the different one of each mold cavityof the first column and the last column of mold cavities.

Another aspect of the embodiments hereof are directed toward aninjection molding apparatus comprising: a plurality of cavity insertsarranged in an array having n columns of cavities, each cavity insertcan have a pair of opposing mold gates; a unidirectional delivery bodyin fluid communication with a molding material source, and positionedoutside of a first column of the array; another unidirectional deliverybody in fluid communication with the molding material source, andpositioned outside of the last column of the array; and n−1bidirectional delivery bodies in fluid communication with the moldingmaterial source, each of the n−1 bidirectional delivery bodiespositioned between adjacent columns of the array, wherein each cavitycan receive molding material from at least one bidirectional deliverybody.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the disclosure willbe apparent from the following description of the disclosure asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings,which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification,further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and to enablea person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the disclosure.The drawings are not to scale.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a three cavity edge-gated injectionmolding apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1A is a schematic of the arrangement of components of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a two cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2A is a schematic of the arrangement of components of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a two cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3A is a schematic of the arrangement of components of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of delivery bodies and molded articles moldedthereby in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosureremoved from the injection molding system.

FIG. 4A is a schematic of the arrangement of components of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a bidirectional delivery body of FIG.4.

FIG. 5B is sectional view of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 5taken along line B-B thereof.

FIG. 5C is sectional view of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 5taken along line C-C thereof.

FIG. 5D is a sectional view of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 5taken along line D-D thereof.

FIG. 5E is a sectional view of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 5taken along line E-E thereof.

FIG. 5F is a perspective view of a bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 4with transfer bodies and tip assemblies.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plug removed from a bidirectionaldelivery body of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6A is sectional view through the plug of FIG. 6 taken along lineA-A thereof.

FIG. 7 is perspective view of a plug in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present disclosure removed from a bidirectionaldelivery body of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7A is a bottom view of the plug of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a top view of an edge-gated injection molding apparatus inaccordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a section view of the edge-gated injection molding apparatusof FIG. 8 taken along line A-A.

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of a portion of the injection moldingapparatus of FIG. 8.

FIG. 8C is the perspective view of the edge-gated injection moldingapparatus of FIG. 8 with the manifold and inlet removed.

FIG. 8D is a perspective view of a bidirectional delivery body from theedge-gated injection molding apparatus of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are now described withreference to the figures. In the following description, “downstream” isused with reference to the general direction of mold material flow froman injection unit to a mold cavity of an injection molding system andalso to the order of components, or features thereof through which themold material flows, from an inlet of the injection molding system to amold cavity, whereas “upstream” is used with reference to the oppositedirection. Also, in the following description each of the terms “left”,“right”, “top” and “bottom” is used with reference to the non-limitingorientation of components as shown in the figures. While specificconfigurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other configurations andarrangements can be used without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 is a section view of a three cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with an embodiment hereof and is generallyindicated by reference numeral 100, features and aspects of which can beused accordingly with the other embodiments. FIG. 1A is a schematic ofthe arrangement of components of FIG. 1. Edge-gated injection moldingapparatus includes a back plate 101, a mold plate 102, cavity inserts103, and a cover plate 104 all held together by a plurality of sockethead cap screws 105 or the like. Back plate 101, mold plate 102, coverplate 104, and cavity insert 103 may be provided with fluid channels,such as fluid channel 106 called out on mold plate 102, through which afluid is circulated to maintain injection molding apparatus 100 at arequired processing temperature. Cavity insert 103 is located in a bore107 in mold plate 102 and defines a cavity 108 which defines an outsidesurface of the article being molded. Cavity 108 together with a moldcore (not shown) define the general shape of the article being molded byinjection molding apparatus 100. To allow molding material to enter intocavity 108, each cavity insert 103 is provided with a pair of gates 109,(gate 109A refers to the gate to the left of cavity 108 as viewed onpage, gate 109B refers to the gate to the right of cavity 108 as viewedon page, gates 109A, 109B are generically referenced as gate 109). Inthe current embodiment, gate 109A is at a first location and gate 109Bis at a second location, the first and second locations aresubstantially diametrically opposite one another relative to an axialcenter line 110 of cavity 108. In another embodiment (not shown), gates109A, 109B may be offset relative to each other and/or center line 110of cavity 108. Edge-gated injection molding apparatus 100 furtherincludes an inlet 112, a manifold 113, a plurality of transfer bodies114, and a plurality of delivery bodies 115 in the form ofunidirectional delivery bodies 115A and bidirectional delivery bodies115B. (Unidirectional delivery body/bodies 115A and bidirectionaldelivery body/bodies 115 are referred to generically as deliverybody/bodies 115.) In the current embodiment, each of inlet 112, manifold113, transfer bodies 114, and delivery bodies 115 is provided with aheater, such as heater 116 shown on delivery body 115, in the form of anembedded resistance heater for maintaining each of inlet 112, manifold113, transfer bodies 114, and delivery bodies 115 at a requiredprocessing temperature. (The number and type of heaters are shown by wayof example and not limitation.) In an alternative embodiment (not shown)only some of inlet 112, manifold 113, transfer bodies 114, and deliverybodies 115 are provided with a heater. Inlet 112, manifold 113, transferbodies 114, and delivery bodies 115 can be referred to generally as ahot runner system. A molding machine nozzle (not shown) interfaces withinlet 112 at seat 117 to deliver a stream of moldable material underpressure to a manifold channel 118 of the manifold 113. Manifold 113 islocated in a pocket 119 in mold plate 102, and serves to deliver themolding material stream from the molding machine nozzle (not shown) toeach of the plurality of transfer bodies 114 via a respective manifoldoutlet 120. Pocket 119 is sized in order to maintain an insulating airspace 121 around manifold 113. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,manifold 113 delivers the molding material stream from inlet 112 to fourtransfer bodies 114. Each transfer body 114 is configured for alignmentbetween a transfer channel 123 and a respective manifold outlet 120 toreceive a molding material stream from manifold channel 118. Transferbody 114 has a flange 124 that sits in a corresponding shoulder 125 of aclearance bore 126 in mold plate 102. Similar to pocket 119 describedabove, clearance bore 126 creates an insulating air space 127 betweentransfer body 114 and mold plate 102. A support disk 128 is positionedbetween manifold 113 and back plate 101 to focus the force from manifoldheat expansion directly over each transfer body 114. During operation,the flange 124 and mold plate shoulder 125 arrangement, together withsupport disk 128 supports the load from heat expansion of manifold 113while still allowing the load from manifold 113 to be used as a sealingmeans/force between transfer bodies 114 and manifold 113. Each transferbody 114 delivers the molding material from a respective manifold outlet120 to a respective delivery body 115. As mentioned above, transfer body114 is held in place against mold plate 102 at shoulder 125; as such,thermal expansion of transfer body 114 occurs in the direction ofdeliver body 115. A telescopic connector 122 is provided between eachtransfer body 114 and a respective delivery body 115 to slidably connecta transfer body 114 to a respective delivery body 115 and to absorb theforward heat expansion growth of transfer body 114 while also allowingfluid communication between transfer body 114 and a respective deliverybody 115. The specific location of telescopic connector 122 is exemplaryand is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In analternative embodiment (not shown) transfer body 114 is fixedlyconnected to delivery body 115 and a telescopic connector is providedbetween transfer body 114 and manifold 113. In another embodiment, (alsonot shown) delivery body, transfer body, and manifold are all fixedlyconnected and a telescopic connector is provided between manifold andinlet as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,433, which is incorporated inits entirety by reference. In yet another embodiment (as shown in FIG.2), delivery body, transfer body, manifold, and inlet are all fixedlyconnected, and sealing between the aforesaid components is created bycalculating the thermal expansion of each component to create thedesired sealing load.

As discussed above, transfer body 114 delivers the molding material froma respective manifold outlet 120 to a delivery body 115. For discussionpurposes, in the current embodiment cavities 108 of edge-gated injectionmolding apparatus 100 are arranged in a three by one array, that is, anarray having three columns and one row, with cavity 108 on the left (asviewed on page) being in the first column F and cavity 108 on the right(as viewed on page) being in the third or last column L, and cavity 108located in between the first column F and the last column L being thesecond or middle column M (see FIG. 1A). In an alternative non-limitingembodiment (not shown) injection molding apparatus 100 has a pluralityof rows extending into, or out of the page view of FIG. 1 with eachdelivery body providing molding material to a plurality of moldcavities, similar to the embodiment discussed below having regard toFIG. 4. Returning to FIG. 1, the cavity in the first column F and thecavity in the middle column M are considered to be adjacent to eachanother, and the cavity in the last column L and the cavity in themiddle column M are also considered to be adjacent to each other.Referring to cavity 108 in the first column F of the array, deliverybody 115 is a unidirectional delivery body 115A that is positionedoutside of the first column F of the array. Unidirectional delivery body115A delivers molding material generally in one direction (i.e., towardsmold cavity 108) and is provided with a uni-molding material channel oruni-channel 129 in fluid communication with transfer channel 123 viatelescopic connector 122. A tip, or tip assembly 130 is coupled tounidirectional delivery body 115A at a downstream end uni-channel 129for delivering a stream of molding material to cavity 108 in the firstcolumn F of the array via gate 109A. Referring to cavity 108 in the lastcolumn L of the array, the delivery body 115 is another unidirectionaldelivery body 115A that is positioned outside of the last column L ofthe array for delivering a stream of molding material to cavity 108 inthe last column L of the array via gate 109B.

As discussed above, each cavity insert 103 is provided with two gates109A, 109B. In order to deliver molding material to gate 109B of cavity108 in the first column F of the array, and gate 109A of the cavity 108in the last column L in the array, a bidirectional delivery body 115B,which delivers molding material in substantially opposite directions, ispositioned between adjacent columns of the array. In the presentembodiment, a bidirectional delivery body 115B is positioned between thefirst and middle cavities 108 of the array, and another bidirectionaldelivery body 115B is positioned between the middle and the thirdcavities 108 of the array. Bidirectional delivery body 115B has an inlet131, in fluid communication with a respective transfer channel 123 viatelescopic connector 122. Inlet 131 divides into two bi-molding materialchannels or bi-channels 132 which extend in generally oppositedirections, specifically a first bi-channel 132A and a second bi-channel132B which may be referred to collectively as bi-channel 132. At adownstream end of each bi-channel 132A, 132B a tip assembly 130 iscoupled to each side of bidirectional delivery body 115B. One tipassembly 130 for delivering a stream of molding material to cavity 108in one of the adjacent columns of the array, and the other tip assembly130 for delivering a stream of the molding material to mold cavity 108in the other of the adjacent columns of the array. Referring tobidirectional delivery body 115B positioned between cavity 108 in thefirst column F and cavity 108 in the middle column M, the tip assembly130 coupled to the left side of bidirectional delivery body 115Bdelivers a stream of molding material to gate 109B on the right side ofcavity 108 in the first column F whereas the tip assembly 130 coupled tothe right side of bidirectional delivery body delivers a stream ofmolding material to gate 109A on the left side of cavity 108 in themiddle column M. Referring to bidirectional delivery body 115Bpositioned between cavity 108 in the middle column M and cavity 108 inthe last column L, the tip assembly 130 coupled to the left side ofbidirectional delivery body 115B delivers a stream of molding materialto gate 109B on the right side of cavity 108 in the middle column Mwhereas the tip assembly 130 coupled to the right side of bidirectionaldelivery body delivers a stream of molding material to gate 109A on theleft side of cavity 108 in the last column L. In such an arrangementeach cavity 108 of the array receives a stream of molding material fromtwo delivery bodies 115; one stream from a bidirectional delivery body115B and the other stream from either a bidirectional delivery body 115B(as is the case for cavity 108 in the middle column M of the array) orfrom a unidirectional delivery body 115A (as is the case for cavity 108in the first F and last L columns of the array). That is, the deliverybodies 115 are positioned such that the pressure from the melt enteringcavity 108 via gate 109A substantially balances the pressure from themelt entering cavity 108 via gate 109B.

Given the arrangement of cavities 108 and delivery bodies 115, thenumber of columns in the array can include n columns by m rows, where nis an integer greater than 1, such that a respective unidirectionaldelivery body 115A is positioned outside each of the first F and last Lcolumns of the array and a respective one of n−1 bidirectional deliverybodies 115B is positioned between adjacent columns of the array.Accordingly, each array has one first column F, one last column L, and 0or more middle columns M. In the current embodiment, cavities 108 in thefirst F, last L and middle M column F of the same row, and respectivetip assemblies associated therewith are considered to be in-line withone another. Such an arrangement of cavities 108 and delivery bodies 115allows for close pitch spacing and higher cavitational density, which inturn increases the number of molded articles produced during eachinjection cycle.

In the current embodiment tip assembly includes a tip body 134 that isslidably received in a bore 135 in a gate seal 136 such that the twopieces are substantially coaxial. An example of tip assembly 130 isdisclosed in U.S. patent application 61/612,149 which is incorporatedherein by reference. In embodiments hereof, tip body 134 may be formedfrom a thermally conductive material, such as beryllium copper, and gateseal 136 may be formed from a less thermally conductive material, suchH13 steel. (Beryllium copper and H13 steel are provided by way ofexample and not limitation) A downstream end of gate seal 136 includes aface seal surface 137 that contacts and seals against a first sealingsurface 138 of cavity insert 108. Gate seal 136 further includes acircumferential, seal surface 139 that contacts and seals against acorresponding second sealing surface 140 of cavity insert 108. Secondsealing surface 140 is located within counter bore that surrounds eachgate 109 of cavity insert 108. An upstream surface of tip body 134 andan upstream surface of its corresponding gate seal 136 are slidablydisposed against a respective outside, or outlet surface 141 of deliverybody 115 and are otherwise not directly attached or secured thereto.Such an arrangement maintains proper alignment between tip assembly 130and gate 109 regardless of thermal expansion of the heated components ofedge-gated injection molding system 100.

In order to maintain a seal between tip assembly 130 and delivery body115 thermal expansion of delivery body 115 applies pressure against tipbody 134 and gate seal 136 to bear pressure between face seal surface137 and first sealing surface 138 of cavity insert 103. If delivery body115 is a bidirectional delivery body 115B thermal expansion ofbidirectional delivery body 115B bears pressure upon both the face sealsurface 137 associated with the tip assembly 130 on the left side ofbidirectional delivery body 115B and the face seal surface 137associated with the tip assembly 130 on the right side of bidirectionaldelivery body 115B such that bidirectional delivery body 115B is held inplace between respective left and right tip assemblies 130 associatedtherewith. If delivery body 115 is a unidirectional delivery body 115A abackup pad 142, which may be similar to support disk 128 describedabove, is provided in a pocket 133 in cover plate between unidirectionaldelivery body 115A and cover plate 104. Similar to pocket 119 describedabove, pocket 133 creates an insulating air space around delivery bodies115. Backup pad 142 creates a surface upon which unidirectional deliverybody 115A applies force as a result of heat expansion of unidirectionaldelivery body in order to maintain a seal between unidirectionaldelivery body 115A and tip assembly 130. Back up pad 142 further servesto prevent unidirectional delivery body 115A from shifting away fromcavity insert 103 as a result of injection pressure.

In order to locate delivery bodies 115 within injection moldingapparatus 100, specifically, locating the height of a downstream end ofuni-channel 129 and downstream end of bi-molding material channel 132relative to a channel 143 of a respective tip assembly 130, a spacer 145is provided in pocket 133 between each delivery body 115 and cover plate104. Spacer 145 may also be used as a support to prevent downwardmovement (as viewed on page) of delivery body 115 as a result ofinjection pressure. In another embodiment (not shown) spacer 145 mayalso be used to laterally position (as viewed on page) delivery body 115relative to a respective cavity insert 103 by, for example, engagingspacer 145 with a shoulder in each of cover plate 104 and delivery body115. In a further embodiment (also not shown), spacer 145 locates theheight of delivery body 115, whereas a dowel engages with delivery body115 and cover plate 104 to maintain lateral positioning (as viewed onpage) of delivery body 115 relative to a respective cavity insert 103.

While it may be desirable to inject even amounts of molding materialthrough each gate 109A, 109B of cavity 108, a study undertaken by theapplicant has shown that an even divide of molding material between thetwo gates leading to each cavity is not necessary for at least improvingthe core shift and flow length phenomenon described above with regard tosingle sided edge gating. The chart below outlines the effects ofmolding material distribution between two gates and core shift, and flowlength difference.

Flow Split (molding Flow Length Max Core Max Core material distributionDifference Shift at 86% Shift at 100% between gates) at 86% fill (mm)fill (mm) fill (mm)  0/100 7.1 0.58 0.5 40/60 1.3 0.126 0.148 50/50 0.10.001 0.0005

In the current embodiment manifold molding material channel 118 is sizedsuch that manifold outlet 120, in fluid communication with aunidirectional delivery body 115A, has a cross-sectional area that issmaller than the cross sectional area of manifold outlet 120 in fluidcommunication with bidirectional delivery body 115B. This is done inorder to encourage a greater flow of molding material to bidirectionaldelivery body 115B which supplies molding material to two tip assemblies130. In the current embodiment the cross sectional area of manifoldoutlet 120 in fluid communication with a bidirectional delivery body115B is substantially double the size of the cross sectional area ofmanifold outlet 120 in fluid communication with unidirectional deliverybody 115A. In an alternative embodiment (not shown) manifold outlets 120in fluid communication with unidirectional delivery body 115A andoutlets 120 in fluid communication with bidirectional delivery body 115Bare equally sized such that molding material flow to bidirectionaldelivery body 115B is equal to that of molding material flow tounidirectional delivery body 115A.

FIG. 2 is a section view of a two cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with an embodiment hereof, and is generallyindicated by reference numeral 200, features and aspects of which can beused accordingly with the other embodiments, and FIG. 2A is a schematicof the arrangement of components of FIG. 2. In the current embodiment,transfer body 114 and delivery bodies 115 (as shown by FIG. 1) areinstead integrally connected to form a combined, or combined deliverybody 215. Rather than using a telescopic link to accommodate for heatexpansion, combined delivery body 215 is fixed at an upstream endthereof by flange 224 (similar to transfer body 114 (as shown by FIG. 1)that sits in shoulder 125 of clearance bore 126 in mold plate 102, suchthat thermal expansion of combined delivery body 215 occurs in thedirection of cover plate 104. In the absence of telescopic connector122, thermal expansion is accommodated by the sliding interface betweentip assembly 130 and combined delivery body 215. In such an arrangementa spacer is not necessary for maintaining alignment between combineddelivery body 215 and tip assembly 130, instead, to maintain alignmentbetween the downstream end of uni-channel 229 and downstream end ofbi-channel 232 relative to a channel 143 of a respective tip assembly130, the length of combined delivery body 215 is calculated such that,in operation, heat expansion of combined each delivery body 215 bringsthe downstream end of uni-channel 229 and bi-channel 232 into alignmentwith channel 143 of a respective tip assembly 130.

For discussion purposes, in the current embodiment the cavities 108 ofedge-gated injection molding apparatus 200 is laid out in a two by onearray, that is, an array having two columns and one row, with cavity 108on the left (as viewed on page) being the first column F and cavity 108on the right (as viewed on page) being the second or last column L ofthe array. In this array, cavity 108 in the first column F of the arrayand cavity 108 in the last column L of the array are considered to beadjacent to each another. Referring to cavity 108 in the first column Fof the array, combined delivery body 215 is a unidirectional combineddelivery body 215A that is positioned outside of the first column F ofthe array. Unidirectional combined delivery body 215A is provided with auni-channel 229 in fluid communication with a manifold outlet 220. A tipassembly 130 is coupled to a downstream end of unidirectional combineddelivery body 215 for delivering a stream of molding material to cavity108 in the first column F of the array via gate 109A. Referring tocavity 108 in the last column L of the array, delivery body 215 isanother unidirectional combined delivery body 215 that is positionedoutside of the last column L of the array for delivering a stream ofmolding material to cavity 108 in the last column L of the array viagate 109B.

As discussed above, each cavity insert 103 is provided with two gates109A, 109B. In order to deliver molding material to gate 109B of cavity108 in the first column F of the array and to gate 109A of cavity 108 inthe last column L of the array combined bidirectional delivery body 215Bis positioned between cavity 108 in the first column F of the array andcavity 108 in the last column L of the array. In the current embodimentcombined bidirectional delivery body 115B has two inlets 231A and 231B,with inlet 231A being in fluid communication between a respectivemanifold outlet 220 and first bi-channel 232A, and inlet 231B being influid communication between a respective manifold outlet 220 and secondbi-channel 232B. At a downstream end of each bi-channel 232A, 232B, atip assembly 130 is coupled to each side of combined bidirectionaldelivery body 215B. Tip assembly 130 coupled to the left side ofcombined bidirectional delivery body 215B delivers a stream of moldingmaterial to gate 109B on the right side of cavity 108 in the firstcolumn F of the array, whereas tip assembly 130 coupled to the rightside combined bidirectional delivery body 215B delivers a stream of themolding material to mold gate 109A on the left side of mold cavity 108in the last column L of the array. In such an arrangement each cavity108 of the array receives a stream of molding material from two deliverybodies 215; one stream from a bidirectional delivery body 215B and theother from a unidirectional delivery body 215A.

Rather than sizing molding material channels to affect molding materialflow distribution between the pair of gates 109A, 109B leading to eachcavity 108, manifold 213 is configured such that the single stream ofmolding material entering manifold 113 via manifold inlet 112 is dividedinto four manifold outlets 220, each of which having substantially thesame cross-sectional area. In this arrangement manifold 113 isconfigured such that molding material is divided substantially evenlybetween each manifold outlet 220 and subsequently each gate 109.

FIG. 3 is a section view of a two cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with an embodiment hereof and is generallyindicated by reference numeral 300, features and aspects of which can beused accordingly with the other embodiments, and FIG. 3A is a schematicof the arrangement of components of FIG. 3. Similar to the embodiment ofFIG. 1 transfer body 114 and delivery body 115 are separate pieces whichare coupled together via telescopic connector 122. Whereas, similar tothe embodiment of FIG. 2, manifold 113 is configured such that moldingmaterial entering manifold 113 via manifold inlet 112 is divided evenlybetween each of four manifold outlets 120.

As discussed above having regard to FIG. 1, transfer body 114 isprovided to deliver molding material from a respective manifold outlet114 to a respective delivery body 115. For discussion purposes, in thecurrent embodiment 108 of edge-gated injection molding apparatus 300 arelaid out in a two by one array, that is, an array having two columns andone row, with cavity 108 on the left (as viewed on page) being the firstcolumn F of the array, and cavity 108 on the right (as viewed on page)being the second or last column L of the array. In this array, cavity108 in the first column F of the array and cavity 108 in the last columnL of the array are considered to be adjacent to each another. Referringto cavity 108 in the first column F of the array, the delivery body is aunidirectional delivery body 315A that is positioned outside of thefirst column F of the array. Unidirectional delivery body 315A isprovided with a uni-channel 329 in fluid communication with transferbody channel 123. A tip assembly 130 is coupled to a downstream end ofunidirectional delivery body 115A for delivering a stream of moldingmaterial to the mold cavity 108 in the first column F of the array viagate 109A. Referring to the cavity 108 in the last column L of thearray, the delivery body is another unidirectional delivery body 315Athat is positioned outside of the last column L of the array fordelivering a stream of molding material to the mold cavity 108 in thelast column L of the array via gate 109B.

As discussed above, each cavity insert 103 is provided with two gates109A, 109B]. In order to deliver molding material to gate 109B of cavity108 in the last column L of the array, and to gate 109A of cavity 108 inthe last column L of the array, bidirectional delivery body 315B ispositioned between adjacent columns of the array. In the presentembodiment, a bidirectional delivery body 315B is positioned betweencavity 108 in the first column F of the array and cavity 108 in lastcolumn L of the array. In the current embodiment bidirectional deliverybody 315B has a two of inlets 331A, and 331B each of which is in fluidcommunication between a respective bi-molding material channel 132A,132B, and a respective transfer channel 123 provided for in a separatetransfer body 114. At a downstream end of each bi-channel 332A, 332B, atip assembly 130 is coupled to each side of bidirectional delivery body315B. Tip assembly 130 is coupled to the left side of bidirectionaldelivery body 315 delivers a stream of molding material to gate 109B onthe right side of mold cavity 108 in the first column F of the array,tip assembly 130 coupled to the right side of bidirectional deliverybody 315 delivers a stream of the molding material to mold gate 109A onthe left side of cavity 108 in the last column L of the array. In suchan arrangement each cavity 108 of the array receives a stream of moldingmaterial from two delivery bodies; one from bidirectional delivery body315B and the other from a unidirectional delivery body 315A. In thecurrent embodiment, not only is a single molding material stream dividedinto four respective equally sized manifold outlets 120 (two per moldcavity) greater control of the molding material exiting each outlet 120is achieved by providing a separate transfer body 114 for deliveringmolding material to each tip assembly 130 and subsequently each gate109. For example, if it is determined that bidirectional delivery body315B delivers a greater amount of molding material to gate 109B of moldcavity 108 in the first column F of the array than to gate 109A of moldcavity 108 in the last column L of the array, than the temperature oftransfer body 114 associated with gate 109B of cavity 108 of the firstcolumn F of the array can be decreased which will increase the viscosityof molding material flowing therethrough. Accordingly, the higherviscosity material will alter the balance of molding material flowbetween tip assembly 130 associated with gate 109B of cavity 108 in thefirst column F of the array and tip assembly 103 associated with gate109A of cavity 108 in the last column L of the array such that lessmolding material flows from tip assembly 130 associated with gate 109Bof cavity 108 of the first column F of the array which can balance thefill rate between adjacent cavities 108.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of delivery bodies and molded articles moldedthereby in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosureremoved from the injection molding system, features and aspects of whichcan be used accordingly with the other embodiments, and FIG. 4A is aschematic of the arrangement of components of FIG. 4. In FIG. 4 moldedarticles 446 are shown in place of cavity inserts/cavities. Although notshown in FIG. 4, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understandthat molded articles 446 would be formed in respective cavities 408,shown in FIG. 4A which are functionally similar to cavities 108discussed in the previous embodiments. The specific configuration ofdelivery bodies 415, tip assemblies 130 in the current embodiment aresimilar to injection manifolds etc. depicted in U.S. patent application61/612,149 which is incorporated herein by reference. In each of theprevious examples mold cavities are laid out in an array having two ormore columns and only one row. While this simple arrangement isillustrative of the present disclosure, in order to increase thecavitation density of a mold, the injection molding apparatus can belaid out in array two or more columns and more than one row.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, cavities 408 are laid out in an array ofthree columns by four rows. Such an arrangement is similar to that ofFIG. 1; however rather than feed a single cavity mold cavity 108, in thecase of unidirectional delivery body of FIG. 1, or two cavities 108, inthe case of bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 1, in the embodiment ofFIG. 4 each unidirectional delivery body 415A feeds four cavities 408and each bidirectional delivery body 415B feeds eight cavities 408, morespecifically, four cavities 408 positioned on the left side ofbidirectional delivery body 415B and four cavities 408 positioned on theright side of bidirectional delivery body 415B. That is, unidirectionaldelivery body 415A has four tip assemblies 430, all pointing insubstantially same direction, each tip assembly 430 for deliveringmoldable material to a different cavity 108 of a column of cavities 108and bidirectional delivery body 415B has four rows of tip assemblies430, each row having two tip assemblies 430, tip assemblies 430 of eachrow are pointing in substantially opposite directions. Similar to theembodiment of FIG. 3, each unidirectional delivery body 415A is in fluidcommunication with a single transfer body (not shown in FIG. 4), andeach bidirectional delivery body 415B has two inlets 431A, 431B, witheach inlet 431A, 431B being positioned along a centerline 447 ofbidirectional delivery body 415, and in fluid communication a separatetransfer body 414, one transfer body 114 for providing molding materialto cavities 408 positioned on the left side of bidirectional deliverybody 415B via inlet 431A, and the other to provide molding material tocavities 408 positioned on the right side of bidirectional delivery body415B via inlet 431B. Positioning inlets 431A, 431B along centerline 447is advantageous in that it allows the width W of bidirectional deliverybody 415B to be narrower than that of bidirectional delivery body 315Bof FIG. 3, in which inlets 331A, and 331B are positioned on differentsides of the centerline 447 of bidirectional delivery body 315B.Continuing with FIG. 4, reducing the width W of bidirectional deliverybody 415B allows a closer pitch spacing between adjacent columns of thearray, thus increasing the overall cavitational density of the injectionmolding apparatus. In the current embodiment the width W ofbidirectional delivery body 315B is substantially the same as that ofunidirectional delivery body 315A. In the current embodiment a manifold(not shown in FIG. 4) receives a stream of molding material from asource and divides it into six manifold outlets such that each deliverybody inlet, whether associated with a unidirectional delivery body 415Aor a bidirectional delivery body 415B, receives substantially 50% of themolding material required to fill four molded articles 446 from arespective manifold outlet (not shown) via a respective transfer body(also not shown).

Referring to bidirectional delivery body 415B, as shown schematically inFIG. 4A and also to FIGS. 5A-5E, in which FIG. 5A is a perspective viewof the bidirectional delivery of FIG. 4, FIG. 5B is sectional view ofthe bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 4 taken along line B-B, FIG. 5Cis sectional view of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 4 takenalong line C-C, FIG. 5D is a sectional view of the bidirectionaldelivery body of FIG. 4 taken along line D-D, and FIG. 5E is a sectionalview of the bidirectional delivery body of FIG. 4 taken along line E-E.To ensure molding material balance between four cavities 408,bidirectional delivery body 415B is provided with a network ofbi-molding material channels. For example, referring to the fourcavities 408 on the left side of bidirectional delivery body 415,molding material entering inlet 431A is directed into a primary channel532A (see FIG. 5B and FIG. 5D) that extends along the center-line 447 ofbidirectional delivery body 415B. At the downstream end thereof, primarychannel 532A turns away from center line 447 and branches into twosecondary channels 532B′, 532B″ extending in substantially oppositedirections (secondary molding material channels 532B′, 532B″ aregenerically referenced as secondary channel 532B) (see FIG. 5C and FIG.5D). At the downstream end of each secondary channel 532B moldingmaterial experiences a level change, as shown at 548, and branches intotwo tertiary channels 532C′, 532C″ extending in substantially oppositedirections (see FIG. 5B, FIG. 5D, and FIG. 5E) positioned beneath arespective secondary molding material channel 532B′, 532B″ (tertiarychannels 532C′, 532C″ are generically referenced as tertiary channel532C). At a downstream end thereof, each tertiary channel 532C reorientsthe flow of molding material through an outlet 549 (see FIG. 5B) whichis in fluid communication with tip assembly 430 that is configured toredirect the flow of molding material from a bottom surface 450 ofbidirectional delivery body 415B to a respective mold cavity 408 via agate 109B. That is, in the embodiment of FIGS. 4, 4A, and 5A-5F, primarychannel 532A, secondary channels 532B, and tertiary channels 532C form anetwork of channels 532 and each network of channels 532 is fed by oneinlet 431; each unidirectional delivery body 415A has at least onenetwork of channels 532; each bidirectional delivery body 415B has atleast two networks of channels 532. In the current embodiment,bidirectional delivery body 415B is manufactured from a solid block, andprimary, secondary, and tertiary channels 532A, 532B, 532C are formed asa series of bores extending into bidirectional delivery body 415B, andto direct the flow of molding material, a plurality of plugs, such asplug 554, which are inserted in to the bores that define respectiveprimary, secondary, and tertiary channels 532A, 532B, 532C.

As shown in FIG. 4, and also in FIG. 11, in the current embodiment tipassembly 430 further includes a diverter block 451 secured to bottomsurface 450 of bidirectional delivery body 415B. Diverter block 451 hasa channel 452 extending therethrough that reorients the flow of moldingmaterial through a 90° rotation from the bottom of bidirectionaldelivery body 515B to tip body channel 438. In the current embodiment, awedge 453 is also secured to bottom surface 450 of bidirectionaldelivery body 415B which bears against opposite facing tip assemblies430. Specifically, wedge 452 bears against opposing diverter blocks 450(diverter block 450 associated with the left side of bidirectionaldelivery body 415B and diverter body 450 associated with the right sideof bidirectional delivery body 415B) to maintain a fluid seal betweendiverter block channel 452 and tip body channel 438.

It should be understood that in order to feed molding material to thefour mold cavities 408 on the right side of bidirectional delivery body415B, molding material entering inlet 431B and flows through a networkof bi-molding material channels that are oriented 180 degrees to thenetwork of bi-molding material channels 432 associated with inlet 431A.

It should also be understood that unidirectional delivery bodies 415have a channel arrangement similar to the channel arrangement in fluidcommunication with one of inlets 431A, and 431B. Referring tounidirectional delivery body 414 positioned outside the first column Fof the array, to feed molding material to the mold cavities 408 on theright side of unidirectional delivery body 415A, molding material entersan inlet positioned similar on unidirectional delivery body 415A toinlet 431B of bidirectional delivery body 415B and flows through thenetwork of uni-molding material channels to tip assemblies 130 in fluidcommunication with gates 109A on the right side of respective moldcavities 408 in the first column F of the array. Referring tounidirectional delivery body 414 positioned outside the first column Lof the array, to feed molding material to the four mold cavities 408 onthe left side of unidirectional delivery body 415A, molding materialenters an inlet positioned similar on unidirectional delivery body 415Ato inlet 431B of bidirectional delivery body 415B and flows through thenetwork of uni-molding material channels to tip assemblies 130 in fluidcommunication with gates 109B on the left side of respective moldcavities 408 in the last column L of the array.

The aforementioned molding material channel configuration is as follows:1 primary channel 532A×2 secondary channels 532W, 532B″×2 tertiarychannels 532C′, 532C″ (one per each secondary channel 532B′, 532B″)=4delivery body outlets 549 (see FIG. 4A), with each outlet 549 in fluidcommunication with a respective cavity 508. FIG. 5F is a perspectiveview of bidirectional delivery body 415B of FIG. 4 depicting four tipassemblies 430 positioned on the right side of bidirectional deliverybody 415B and two transfer bodies 414, one coupled to each inlet 431A,431B.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-F a center plug, or plug 556 is provided inbidirectional delivery body 415B to facilitate placement of two inlets431A, 431B along centerline 447 of delivery body 415B rather than backto back or placement of each inlet 331A, 331B in-line between adjacentmold cavities 108 as shown in FIG. 3. Referring also to FIG. 6 which isa perspective view of plug 556 depicted in FIGS. 5A-D with FIG. 6A beinga section A-A through FIG. 6. Plug 556 has a cylindrical body portion557 that is received in a corresponding bore 558 in bidirectionaldelivery body 415B. A locating flange 559 extends from body portion 557to mate with a corresponding feature in a mold plate, (such as moldplate 102 shown in FIG. 1) to assist in positioning bidirectionaldelivery body 415B. Plug 556 defines a junction 662 between each primarymolding material channel 532A and the pair of secondary molding materialchannels 5323, 532B″ extending from a downstream end of each primarymolding material channel 532A. Junction 662 includes a firstinterconnecting channel 664A, a second interconnecting channel 664B, afirst segment of primary channel 665A, a second segment of primarychannel 665B, a first segment of secondary channel 667A, and a secondsegment of secondary channel 667B, first segment of primary channel 665Aforming a portion of the primary channel 532A of the one of the networksof channels 532, first segment of secondary channel 667A forming aportion of secondary channel 532B, of the other of the networks ofchannels 532, first interconnecting channel 664A interconnecting firstsegment of primary channel 665A with first segment of secondary channel667A, second segment of primary channel 665B forming a portion of theprimary channel 532A of the other of the networks of channels 532,second segment of secondary channel 667B forming a portion of secondarychannel 532B of the other of the networks of channels 532, secondinterconnecting channel 664B interconnecting second segment of primarychannel 665B with second segment of secondary channel 667B. In theembodiment of FIGS. 6 and 6A, Plug 556 is a unitary or one piece plugmanufactured by an additive manufacturing process such as lasersintering or the like. In an alternative embodiment, plug 556 may bemanufactured from two halves that are brazed or otherwise integrallyformed together, with one half of plug 556 having the channel geometryshown in FIG. 6A and the other half or plug 556 having a correspondingmirrored geometry such that complete the peripheral boundary of theportion of primary molding material channel 532A and secondary moldingmaterial channels 532B′, 532B″ are formed in plug 556. That is, eachhalf of plug 556 includes a network of troughs such that when the twohalves combined to form plug 556, the network of troughs defined thechannels of junction 662.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a centerplug, or plug 756 with FIG. 7A being a bottom view of FIG. 7. Featuresand aspects of the current embodiment can be used accordingly with theother embodiments. Plug 756 of FIG. 7 is similar to plug 556 of FIG. 6,however, in the embodiment of FIG. 7 plug 756 is a half plug having thechannel geometry shown in FIG. 7A and bore 558 having a correspondingmirrored geometry such that bore in the delivery body completes theperipheral boundary of the portion of primary molding material channel532A and secondary molding material channels 5323, 532B″ are formed whenplug 756 is installed in bore 558. That is, plug 756 includes a networkof troughs 769 such that when plug 756 is installed in bore 558, thenetwork of troughs 769 combines with a corresponding network of troughs(not shown) of bore 558 to define the channels of junction 662.

In each of the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 plug 556,756 may be madefrom a material that is the same or different than that of deliverybody. Further plug 556,756 can be integrally or, alternatively removablyinstalled in the delivery body.

FIG. 8 is a top view of an eight cavity edge-gated injection moldingapparatus in accordance with an embodiment hereof, generally indicatedby reference numeral 800, in which bidirectional delivery bodies 415Bare also used as unidirectional delivery bodies. Features and aspects ofthe current embodiment can be used accordingly with the otherembodiments. FIG. 8A is a section view of FIG. 8 taken along line A-A.FIG. 8B is a perspective view of a portion of injection moldingapparatus 800 shown with cavity inserts 803 and support inserts removed.FIG. 8C is the perspective view of FIG. 8B shown with manifold 813 andinlet 812 removed. FIG. 8D is a perspective view of bidirectionaldelivery body 415B and associated cavity inserts 803.

For discussion purposes, in the current embodiment cavities 808 ofedge-gated injection molding apparatus 800 are laid out in a two by fourarray, that is, an array having two columns and four rows, with the fourcavities 808 on the left (as viewed on page) being the first column F ofthe array and the four cavities 808 on the right (as viewed on page)being the second or last column L of the array. In this array, cavity808 of a respective row in the first column F and cavity 108 of the samerespective row in the last column L are considered to be adjacent toeach another.

As mentioned above bidirectional delivery bodies 415B are also used asunidirectional delivery bodies 415 will be referred to as unidirectionaldelivery body/bodies 415C. Unidirectional delivery body 415C can havethe same structure as bidirectional delivery body 415B as discussedhaving regard to the embodiment of FIG. 4. However, when bidirectionaldelivery body 415B is used as unidirectional delivery body 415C, ratherthan deliver molding material to both of inlets 431A, 431B,unidirectional delivery body 415C of FIG. 8 is fed molding material viaa respective transfer body 414 to one of inlets 431A, 431B and the otherof 431A, 431B is not fed any molding material, rendering the tips beingfed by the latter inlet unused.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8C, and to unidirectionaldelivery body 415C positioned outside the first column F of the array,to feed molding material to the mold cavities 808 on the right side ofunidirectional delivery body 415C, molding material enters inlet 431Band flows through the network of molding material channels (similar tochannels 532 of FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E) to tip assemblies 430 in fluidcommunication with respective gates 809A on the left side of moldcavities 808 in the first column F of the array. Referring tounidirectional delivery body 415C positioned outside the last column Lof the array, to feed molding material to the four mold cavities 408 onthe left side of unidirectional delivery body 415C, molding materialenters inlet 431A and flows through the network of molding materialchannels (opposite to channels 532 of FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E) to tipassemblies 430 in fluid communication with respective gates 809B on theright side of respective mold cavities 808 in the last column L of thearray.

Similar to the previous embodiments, each cavity insert 803 is providedwith two gates 809A and 809B. In order to deliver molding material torespective gates 809B of cavities 808 in the first column F of the arrayand to respective gates 809A of cavities 808 in the last column L of thearray, bidirectional delivery body 415B is positioned between cavities808 in the first column F of the array and cavities 808 in the lastcolumn L of the array. Referring to FIG. 8C and FIG. 8D, bidirectionaldelivery body 415B has two inlets 431A and 431B, to feed moldingmaterial to the mold cavities 808 on the left side of bidirectionaldelivery body 415B, molding material enters inlet 431A and flows throughthe network of molding material channels (similar to channels 532 ofFIG. 5A to FIG. 5E) to tip assemblies 430 in fluid communication withrespective gates 809B on the right side of mold cavities 808 in thefirst column F of the array, and to feed molding material to the fourmold cavities 808 on the right side of bidirectional delivery body 415B,molding material enters inlet 431B and flows through the network ofmolding material channels (opposite to channels 532 of FIG. 5A to FIG.5E) to tip assemblies 430 in fluid communication with respective gates809A on the right side of respective mold cavities 808 in the lastcolumn L of the array.

In the current embodiment, manifold 813 receives a stream of moldingmaterial via inlet 812 and divides it evenly between four outlets (notshown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D), with one outlet being in fluidcommunication with inlet 431B of unidirectional delivery body 425Cpositioned outside the first column F of the array, one outlet being influid communication with inlet 431A of unidirectional delivery body 425Cpositioned outside the last column L column of the array and theremaining two outlets in fluid communication with respective inlets 431Aand 431B of bidirectional delivery body 415B. Accordingly, in thisarrangement each cavity 808 receives a stream of molding material fromtwo delivery bodies 415; one stream from a bidirectional delivery body415B and the other from a unidirectional delivery body 815C.

Referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C, injection molding apparatus800 includes support inserts 860. Specifically, one column of foursupport inserts 860 is positioned relative to unidirectional deliverybody 415C that is outside of the first column F of the array, andanother column of four support inserts is positioned relative tounidirectional delivery body 415C that is outside of the last column Lof the array. In the current embodiment, the pitch spacing of supportinserts 860 is equal to that of cavity inserts 803. Support inserts 860have an outer profile similar to that of cavity inserts 803 and would bereceived in a corresponding bore in a mold plate, such as mold plate 102shown in FIG. 1, and also include also include respective first sealingsurface 838 and circumferential sealing surface 839. Support inserts 860are used as place holders to enable the use of bidirectional deliverybodies 415, as unidirectional delivery bodies 415C. In an embodiment(not shown) support inserts 860 are made from the same material ascavity inserts 803, and also have the same internal geometry as cavityinserts 803 thus allowing a respective support insert 860 to be used asa spare cavity insert 803 in the event that a cavity insert 803 becomesdamaged.

Referring to FIG. 8A and unidirectional delivery body 415C positionedoutside the first column of the array, wedge 453 bears against oppositefacing tip assemblies 430; tip assembly 430 on the left side ofunidirectional delivery body 415C applies force against support insert860, whereas tip assembly 430 on the right side of applies force againstcavity insert 803 such that unidirectional delivery body 415C is held inplace between cavity inserts 803 in the first column of the array andsupport insert 860 by opposite facing tip assemblies 430. In the currentembodiment tip assembly 430 associated with support insert 860 has ablank tip body 861, that is blank tip body 861 does not have a meltchannel extending therethrough.

In each of the above examples the specific delivery body and tipassembly 130 arrangement is shown by way of example and not limitation.Further non-limiting examples of tip and delivery body arrangements canbe found in the following examples, U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,431, which isincorporated by reference herein, depicts a one piece tip that isthreadably coupled to an edge gating nozzle body that creates face sealwith a corresponding cavity insert 103. In this arrangement the tip canbe said to be fixed to a delivery body and slidable relative to acorresponding cavity insert. In another embodiment tip assembly is a twopiece injection tip that is threadably retained to delivery body by wayof a separate transfer seal, such an arrangement can be found in U.S.Pat. No. 7,179,081 also incorporated by reference herein. In thisarrangement the tip can be considered fixed to the delivery body by wayof a transfer seal, and is also fixed to cavity insert 103 by way of thecircumferential engagement between transfer seal sealing diameter andcavity insert bore. In still a further embodiment a tip seal arrangementsuch as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,228 which is incorporated hereinby reference, can also be used in embodiments hereof without divertingfrom the scope of the disclosure. While tip assemblies 130 are shownprojecting at a 90° angle to the axial centerline 110 of each cavity108, tip assemblies may also project at an angle to axial centerline inembodiments where it can be disadvantageous to inject molding materialdirectly at the mold core.

The use of the terms rows and columns throughout this disclosure is notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but is meant to conveythe relationship between the positions and orientations of the deliverybodies and cavities.

While various embodiments according to the present disclosure have beendescribed above, it should be understood that they have been presentedby way of illustration and example only, and not limitation. It will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes inform and detail can be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure. For example, where suitable, an apparatuscan use a combination of combined delivery body 115A, 115B and transferbody 114 connected to bidirectional delivery body 115B or unidirectionaldelivery body 115A. As another example, where suitable, combineddelivery body 115A, 115B can be replaced by transfer body 114 connectedto bidirectional delivery body 115B or unidirectional delivery body115A, or vice versa. As another example, the rows and columns do notnecessarily have to be horizontal or vertical. As another example, theterm array also includes a sub-array of a larger array. For example, aninjection molding apparatus may have 96 cavities laid out in an eight bytwelve array (eight columns and twelve rows) which is made up of six subarrays, each sub array having 16 cavities arranged in four columns byfour rows of cavities or other suitable combination of sub arrays. Thus,the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited byany of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be definedonly in accordance with the appended claims and their equivalents. Itwill also be understood that each feature of each embodiment discussedherein, and of each reference cited herein, can be used in combinationwith the features of any other embodiment. All patents and publicationsdiscussed herein are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An edge-gated hot runner system for delivering asupply of moldable material to a plurality of mold cavities that arearranged in an array, the edge-gated hot runner system comprising: amanifold having a manifold channel in fluid communication with a sourceof molding material; a first delivery body in fluid communication withthe manifold channel, the first delivery body having a delivery body tipcoupled to a side of the first delivery body at a downstream end of amelt channel of the first delivery body for delivering the moldablematerial to a mold cavity in a first column of the array; and a seconddelivery body in fluid communication with the manifold channel, thesecond delivery body having first and second delivery body tips, whereinthe first delivery body tip of the second delivery body is coupled to afirst side of the second delivery body at a downstream end of a firstmelt channel of the second delivery body for delivering the moldablematerial to the mold cavity of the first column of the array, andwherein the second delivery body tip of the second delivery body iscoupled to a second side of the second delivery body at a downstream endof a second melt channel of the second delivery body for delivering themoldable material to a mold cavity in a second column of the array,wherein the first and second melt channels of the second delivery bodyhave a common inlet in fluid communication with a first outlet of themanifold channel, and wherein a cross-sectional area of a second outletof the manifold channel in fluid communication with an inlet of the meltchannel of the first delivery body is smaller than a cross-sectionalarea of the first outlet of the manifold channel in fluid communicationwith the common inlet of the first and second melt channels of thesecond delivery body.
 2. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 1,wherein the delivery body tip of the first delivery body and the firstand second delivery body tips of the second delivery body are in linewith each other.
 3. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 1, whereinthe first delivery body includes a second delivery body tip coupled tothe side of the first delivery body at the downstream end of the meltchannel of the first delivery body for delivering the moldable materialto a second mold cavity in the first column of the array.
 4. Theedge-gated hot runner system of claim 3, wherein the second deliverybody includes third and fourth delivery body tips, the third deliverybody tip being coupled to the first side of the second delivery body atthe downstream end of the first melt channel of the second delivery bodyfor delivering the moldable material to the second mold cavity in thefirst column of the array, and the fourth delivery body tip beingcoupled to the second side of the second delivery body at the downstreamend of the second melt channel of the second delivery body fordelivering molding material to a second mold cavity in the second columnof the array.
 5. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 1, whereineach of the delivery body tip of the first delivery body and the firstand second delivery body tips of the second delivery body are configuredto be received in a respective bore in a cavity insert.
 6. Theedge-gated hot runner system of claim 5, wherein the delivery body tipof the first delivery body is slidably coupled to the first deliverybody, and the first and second delivery body tips of the second deliverybody are slidably coupled to the second delivery body.
 7. The edge-gatedhot runner system of claim 1, wherein each of the delivery body tip ofthe first delivery body and the first and second delivery body tips ofthe second delivery body includes a tip body received in a respectivebore of a gate seal.
 8. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 1,further comprising: a first transfer body in fluid communication betweenthe manifold channel and the first delivery body, and a second transferbody in fluid in fluid communication between the manifold channel andthe second delivery body.
 9. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim1, further comprising: a last delivery body in fluid communication withthe manifold channel, the last delivery body having a delivery body tipcoupled to a side of the last delivery body at a downstream end of amelt channel of the last delivery body for delivering the moldablematerial to a mold cavity in a last column of the array.
 10. Anedge-gated hot runner system suitable for delivering opposing streams ofmolding material to each cavity in a mold having an array of moldcavities, the edge-gated hot runner system comprising: a first deliverybody in fluid communication with a molding material source, the firstdelivery body in fluid communication with a tip that points in a firstdirection; a last delivery body in fluid communication with the moldingmaterial source, the last delivery body in fluid communication with atip that points in a second direction that is opposite to the firstdirection; and one or more middle delivery bodies in fluid communicationwith the molding material source, each of the one or more middledelivery bodies being positioned between the first delivery body and thelast delivery body, wherein each of the one or more middle deliverybodies is in fluid communication with a respective first tip that pointsin the first direction and with a respective second tip that points inthe second direction, wherein each of the one or more middle deliverybodies includes a first inlet and a second inlet, the first inlet beingin fluid communication with the respective first tip that points in thefirst direction, and the second inlet being in fluid communication withthe respective second tip that points in the second direction.
 11. Theedge-gated hot runner system of claim 10, wherein the tip associatedwith the first delivery body, the tip associated with the last deliverybody, and the respective first and second tips associated with eachrespective middle delivery body are in line with each other.
 12. Theedge-gated hot runner system of claim 10, wherein the first deliverybody is in fluid communication with a second tip that points in thefirst direction.
 13. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 12,wherein each of the one or more middle delivery bodies is in fluidcommunication with a respective third tip that points in the firstdirection and a respective fourth tip that points in the seconddirection.
 14. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 10, wherein thefirst inlet and the second inlet are positioned along a centerline ofthe respective middle delivery body.
 15. The edge-gated hot runnersystem of claim 10, wherein each of the tip of the first delivery body,the tip of the last delivery body, and the first and second tips of eachrespective middle delivery body are configured to be received in arespective bore in a cavity insert.
 16. The edge-gated hot runner systemof claim 15, wherein the first delivery body is slidably coupled to thetip that points in the first direction, the last delivery body isslidably coupled to the tip that points in the second direction, andeach respective middle delivery body is slidably coupled to the firsttip that points in the first direction and to the second tip that pointsin the second direction.
 17. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim10, wherein each of the tip of the first delivery body, the tip of thelast delivery body, and the first and second tips of each respectivemiddle delivery body includes a tip body received in a respective borein a gate seal.
 18. The edge-gated hot runner system of claim 10,further comprising: a first transfer body in fluid communication betweena manifold and the first delivery body, a respective middle transferbody in fluid communication between the manifold and a respective middledelivery body of the one or more middle delivery bodies, and a lasttransfer body in fluid communication between the manifold and the lastdelivery body.
 19. An edge-gated injection mold comprising: a pluralityof cavity inserts arranged in an array, each cavity insert defining amold cavity having a pair of mold gates that are located on oppositesides of the cavity insert; and a hot runner system having a manifoldincluding a manifold channel in fluid communication with a moldingmaterial source and a plurality of delivery bodies, for each row of thearray, the plurality of delivery bodies including, a firstunidirectional delivery body in fluid communication with the manifoldchannel of the manifold, the first unidirectional delivery body beingpositioned outside of a first column of the array, the firstunidirectional delivery body having a melt channel in fluidcommunication with a tip associated with a mold gate of a mold cavity inthe first column of the array, a second unidirectional delivery body influid communication with the manifold channel of the manifold, thesecond unidirectional delivery body being positioned outside of a lastcolumn of the array, the second unidirectional delivery body having amelt channel in fluid communication with a tip associated with a moldgate of a mold cavity in the last column of the array, and a middledelivery body in fluid communication with the manifold channel of themanifold, the middle delivery body being positioned between adjacentcolumns of the array, the middle delivery body having a first meltchannel in fluid communication with a first tip associated with arespective mold cavity in one of the adjacent columns of the array on afirst side of the middle delivery body and a second melt channel influid communication with a second tip associated with a respective moldcavity in the other of the adjacent columns of the array on a secondside of the middle delivery body, wherein the first tip of the middledelivery body points in a first direction and the second tip of themiddle delivery body points in a second direction that is opposite thefirst direction, and wherein the middle delivery body includes a firstinlet and a second inlet, the first inlet being in fluid communicationwith the first tip in the first direction via the first melt channel,and the second inlet being in fluid communication with the second tip inthe second direction via the second melt channel.
 20. The edge-gatedinjection mold of claim 19, wherein each column of the array of cavityinserts is arranged vertically.
 21. The edge-gated injection mold ofclaim 19, wherein the array of cavity inserts is a sub-array of a largerarray.
 22. The edge-gated injection mold of claim 19, wherein the pairof mold gates are diametrically opposite one another relative to anaxial centerline of a respective cavity insert.